Page 2 - Aging Population

World Population Day 2024: History, significance, theme, facts and more

It is an occasion to spread awareness and educate people about the problems associated with increasing population and its control

Court orders Japan govt to compensate forcibly sterilised disabled people

In a landmark decision, Japan's Supreme Court ordered the government Wednesday to pay suitable compensation to about a dozen victims who were forcibly sterilised under a now-defunct Eugenics Protection Law that was designed to eliminate offspring of people with disabilities. An estimated 25,000 people were sterilised between the 1950s and 1970s without consent to prevent the birth of poor-quality descendants" under the law, described by plaintiffs' lawyers as the biggest human rights violation in the post-war era" in Japan. The court said the 1948 eugenics law was unconstitutional and rejected the government's claim that the 20-year statute of limitations should prevent it from paying restitution. Wednesday's decision involved 11 of the 39 plaintiffs who fought at five lower courts across Japan to get their case heard by the country's top court. Cases involving the other litigants are still pending. The plaintiffs, a number of them in wheelchairs, held up signs saying thank you and

India needs to expand universal health coverage for ageing population: ADB

India is one of the lowest among the Asia Pacific nations when it comes to health insurance for older people and needs to expand universal health coverage to meet the needs of rapidly ageing population and sustain growth momentum, a report by ADB said on Thursday. While the South Korea and Thailand have achieved universal health coverage, others lag behind with India having the lowest health insurance coverage among older people at 21 per cent, a report titled 'Aging Well In Asia' prepared by ADB said. However, schemes like Ayushman Bharat that provides cashless healthcare to bottom quartile of population has improved health coverage since its launch, ADB senior economist Aiko Kikkawa said here. Expanding it further will improve the condition and make people aged over 60 years more productive for the economy, she said, adding, silver dividend can be higher for such countries who gainfully employ them. Besides achieving universal health coverage, she said, it is also critical to ext

Jobs creation in South Asia lags population growth, says World Bank chief

"If only they can be employed. It's a fantastic opportunity to grow but until recently employment ratios have been falling," says Franziska Ohnsorge

South Korea firm to give workers $75,000 bonus to have babies, help country

Korean construction giant Booyoung announced the financial incentive as the country is faced with falling birth rates amid rising cost of rearing a child

South Korea's fertility rate, which is world's lowest, drops to fresh low

The total number of births in South Korea stood at 230,000 in 2023, a 7.7 per cent decrease and another new low for the country, which has a population of about 50 million people

Shrinking, aging pool of workers push Japan to find new ways to fill Jobs

Earlier this year, the government committed ¥3.5 trillion ($23.6 billion) on measures to increase the birthrate, but the shortfall in available workers has been challenging employers for some time

Singapore's policies present blueprint to address 'population ageing' issue

Ageing Singapore offers a blueprint for action

India may have more elderly persons than children by 2050: UN report

UNFPA report said that most southern states and select northern states such as HP and Punjab reported a higher share of elderly population than national average in 2021; the gap is likely to widen

Over 1.3 billion people globally to have diabetes by 2050, finds study

A loss of the body's ability to control blood sugar levels, diabetes affects one in 10 adults globally and caused 6.7 million deaths in 2021, the International Diabetes Federation estimates

The Chinese govt wants the youth to marry, but they don't see the point

There was a downfall of 800,000 in the number of weddings in 2022 when compared with 2021

India's youth population alone not enough for demographic dividend: Experts

Gains require an economic system that uses workforce productively, they say

China loses more than 40 mn workers in three years as population ages

The data reflects a rapid rise in the number of people retiring, likely raising pressure on Beijing to accelerate unpopular plans to raise official retirement ages

Japan births at record low as population shrinks and ages: Official

The number of babies born in Japan this year is below last year's record low in what the the top government spokesman described as a critical situation. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno promised comprehensive measures to encourage more marriages and births. The total of 599,636 Japanese born in January-September was 4.9% below last year's figure, suggesting the number of births in all of 2022 might fall below last year's record low of 811,000 babies, he said. Japan is the world's third biggest economy but living costs are high and wage increases have been slow. The conservative government has lagged on making society more inclusive for children, women and minorities. So far, the government's efforts to encourage people to have more babies have had limited impact despite payments of subsidies for pregnancy, childbirth and child care. The pace is even slower than last year ... I understand that it is a critical situation, Matsuno said. Many younger Japanese have balked at

Singapore faces challenge of finding foreign nurses for aging population

One key challenge for Singapore is to find enough foreign nurses to supplement local ones to care for the elderly as the health care system will require 24,000 of them by 2030, according to media reports. "They (nurses and healthcare staff) number 58,000 now and the Ministry of Health estimates that this will need to grow to 82,000 by 2030," Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told Parliament on Wednesday. Singaporeans and permanent residents make up about 72 per cent of Singapore's pool of registered and 63 per cent enrolled nurses. The rest are from the Philippines, Malaysia, China, India, Myanmar and other countries, according to a report by The Straits Times. Acknowledging the heightened international competition for nurses, Ong added that the ministry is supportive of a suggestion by Nominated MP and breast surgeon Tan Yia Swam of granting permanent residency to good performers. He also pointed out that by 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above, up from one in six .

Should India consider raising the retirement age?

India is preparing to face the challenges of rising elderly population. Its largest retirement fund EPFO recently backed the idea of raising the retirement age in line with western countries to deal w

Population collapse due to low birth rates a bigger risk than climate: Musk

This is not the first time that Tesla's top boss has warned about declining birth rates. In June 2022, he also shared data from The Wall Street Journal

China's population grows by less than half-a-million as birth rate falls

China's population grew to 1.4126 billion by the end of last year, increasing by less than half-a-million as the birth rate fell for the fifth consecutive year

S Korea's population to see 1st decline amid low birthrate, rapid ageing

South Korea's total population is expected to record its first decline this year, the statistics agency said on Thursday

Chinese county to give cash handouts to couples to have babies

A county in western China will give cash subsidies to couples to have children, the latest push to encourage more births in a country where the population is set to decline in coming years